Xabi Alonso is expected to field a heavily rotated Chelsea side for Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Liverpool.

Chelsea have not had time to dwell on their 2-0 derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday and must quickly shift their attention to the upcoming trip to Liverpool.

The new objective could help raise the team’s morale, especially with several players vying for potential rotation minutes at Anfield.

Cole Palmer will serve a one-match suspension for his two yellow cards against Spurs, while Joao Pedro has been ruled out due to a thigh injury. Other key players could also be rested for this weekend’s home Premier League game against Manchester United, possibly leaving plenty of space up for grabs for the fringe players.

Mike Penders is expected to stay in goal despite his disappointing full debut against Spurs. With Emiliano Martinez still recovering from jaw surgery, Chelsea can give the young goalkeeper the chance to develop and gain more experience on the pitch.

After experimenting with a 4-4-2 in the derby, Alonso will likely revert to a more familiar 3-4-2-1 system against Liverpool. This would mean a return to a back three. 

Jorrel Hato could move deeper to a left centre-back role, replacing Levi Colwill, and start in the back three alongside Maxence Lacroix and Wesley Fofana, who would come in for Josh Acheampong.

Hato’s positional switch would then make way for Marco Palestra’s first competitive start for Chelsea at left wing-back. Malo Gusto is expected to start on the opposite flank, replacing the in-form Pedro Neto.

In midfield, both Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are expected to be rotated out. Romeo Lavia and Valentin Barco would fill their spots as a double pivot.

Estevao Willian could earn his first start for Chelsea since the previous round's win over Leeds United in early September. He would likely fill the void left by Palmer’s suspension and play alongside Geovany Quenda as two wide number 10s.

Danny Welbeck’s limited involvement against Spurs was one of last weekend's biggest surprises. Despite Joao Pedro’s injury absence, the veteran striker only came on in the 88th minute, and by that point, Chelsea had already been two goals and a man down against their London rivals.

However, the 35-year-old is expected to lead the line for Chelsea against Liverpool. He has already scored three goals for Chelsea across two Carabao Cup appearances so far.

Penders, Fofana, Lacroix, Hato, Gusto, Lavia, Barco, Palestra, Estevao, Quenda, Welbeck